To overcome hunger in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties through education and by working in a cooperative effort with partner agencies in the procurement and distribution of food, equitably and without discrimination.

Leadership

CEO/Executive Director Al Brislain

Board Chair Noelle Melanson

Board Chair AffiliationMelanson Law

General Info

Organization DBA

DBA

Supported Organization

Former Names

Lee County Food Cooperative

Tax Exempt StatusPublic Supported Charity

Incorporation Year1983

Awarded competitive grant from Community Foundation in the last 5 years?

The Harry Chapin Food Bank (HCFB) distributes fresh, nutritious food to our neighbors in need through a network of more than 150 partner agencies that operate soup kitchens, emergency shelters and other programs. Each month we help feed 30,000 people, 40% of whom are children and 10% are seniors.

Although unemployment rates are dropping, many clients still need support because they work in low-paying service industry jobs or can only find part-time or seasonal employment. Our clients often have to choose between paying bills or putting food on the table. Food is often sacrificed in this equation.

Recently, an Army veteran received food through our mobile pantry program. He completed three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan before returning home and becoming employed. Unfortunately, a work accident left him disabled and struggling to feed his family. He sought out help for his family at a mobile food pantry, expressing gratitude for the assistance. Similar stories can be heard at all of the HCFB programs.

Our top accomplishments in fiscal year (FY) 2014 were providing 18.7 million pounds food to clients, which is the equivalent of 15.5 million meals. This was a 13% increase over FY 2013.

Other accomplishments included:

Providing 6.0 million pounds of fresh produce.

Expanding the mobile pantry program by providing 3.3 million pounds of food through almost 324 distributions.

Receiving a "superior rating" from the American Institute of Baking (AIB), the standard-bearer for the food safety industry.

Boost overall food
distribution by 10% for a total distribution of 20.5 million pounds
of food, the equivalent of 17 million meals, with a food value of $35
million

Increase our truck fleet to
acquire and distribute more fresh produce and other nutritious food

Increase funding by at least 5%

Increase the number of partner
agencies in our network

Increase the number of Mobile Food
Pantry distribution events

Increase the amount of food
distributed through the Mobile Pantries

Receive
AIB approval

Needs Statement

The acquisition and distribution of
food is an on-going a challenge for the food bank. The following is an outline of
food bank needs:

Food Acquisition - The need for
food persists throughout the year, but it is especially acute in the
summer. With schools closed, students qualifying for subsidized meal
and snack programs no longer have access to a predictable source of
food. In Southwest Florida, unemployment
increases with the lack of seasonal service and retail jobs created by part-time
residents returning to their summer homes in the northern states. This is further complicated by the end
of the regional growing season during summer months. Food donations
decline during the summer months leading to the need to acquire food from
sources outside of Florida. This results in higher costs to ship and
distribute food.

Distribution Expansion - Annually,
there is a need for increased funding for program expansion. Approximately
50% of food distributed through the Mobile Food Pantry Program is
comprised of produce. Increased funding is needed to expand and
sustain fresh produce, retail store pickup and mobile pantry
programs.

The Harry Chapin Food Bank was started in
1983. The food bank was originally known as the Lee County Food Cooperative.
The cooperative's primary responsibility was to help distribute the federal
government's surpluses of cheese and other dairy products, which were known as
government cheese distributions or commodities. A few years into the program,
the amount of food began to decline, and the Board of Directors decided to
create a community food bank to recover and distribute food that would have
gone to waste otherwise. The Southwest Florida Food Bank struggled at first to
serve 18 Lee County agencies, distributing fewer than 200,000 pounds of food
between late 1990 and early 1991. The food bank persevered, though, and in
1995, the family of the late singer and anti-hunger advocate Harry Chapin
allowed the food bank to use his name. The Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest
Florida was born. Two years later, in 1997, the Harry Chapin Food Bank earned
"certified affiliate" status from the Second Harvest National Food Bank
Network, which is now known as Feeding America, the nation's largest nonprofit
hunger-relief organization.

Today, the Harry Chapin Food Bank of
Southwest Florida is the area's only food bank. As such, the food bank is the
primary safety net for Southwest Floridians facing hunger and food insecurity,
or a lack of consistent access to and adequate amounts of nutritious food.
Through a network of 150 nonprofit partner agencies, the Harry Chapin Food Bank
provides food to more than 30,000 Southwest Floridians every
month. Approximately 40% of our clients are children and 10% are seniors.

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. I eagerly anticipate the wonderful bounties of summer and I reflect on the many winter accomplishments! Looking back over the past couple of months, I am especially appreciative of our community’s generosity to the Food Bank. The WINK NEWS Feeds Families Hunger Walk was a great success, because of the support we received from our sponsors and walkers and the hard work of the Hunger Walk committee and co-chairs Sandy Robinson and Dr. Brian Schwartz. The guests who attended the Taste of Boca Grande enjoyed delicious food from local restaurants and lovely entertainment by the Steve Chapin Band, and Empty Bowls Naples’ participants were treated to delicious soup in bowls created by local school children. I am grateful for the enthusiasm of the many volunteers who dedicated their precious time to making each of these events successful. As I look forward to the bountiful harvest of our local farmers, I am thankful that they share this plenty by donating lots of fresh produce to the Food Bank so that those we serve can enjoy the harvest season as well. All these caring people make our community a better place! (HCFB 2014 Spring Newsletter) http://www.harrychapinfoodbank.org/Media/Default/Files/Newsletters/HCFB_NL_2014_spring.pdf

Statement from the CEO/Executive Director

The Harry Chapin Food Bank has a dynamic team:
the Board of Directors, staff, volunteers, and financial supporters have made
it possible for us to increase our distribution significantly over the
past five years. We cannot rest on past successes, however, because hunger
continues in our community.

To successfully fight hunger, envision a
jigsaw puzzle. Many of the pieces are important--governmental programs such as
SNAP (formerly food stamps), the school meal program, and WIC (the Women,
Infants, and Children). A smaller but important piece of the puzzle is the
emergency food system, which relies heavily on our efforts. Last fiscal year,
we distributed almost $32 million worth of food to our neighbors in need
through the emergency food system and our mobile pantry program. Without that
food, thousands of children, seniors, and other Southwest Floridians would have
gone hungry.

With our growth over the past five years, we
continue to meet the highest standards for food banks and other non-profit
organizations. We are one of a very few local human service organizations to
receive a 4-star rating five consecutive years from Charity Navigator,
America’s largest independent charity evaluator. We continue to meet and
exceed all standards set by the three Southwest Florida United Way
organizations that fund us, as well as standards set by Feeding America, the
nation’s food bank network. We also have received another clean independent
financial audit, a copy of which is available on our website, http://www.harrychapinfoodbank.org. Finally, we continue to be cost-effective,
distributing $6 worth of food for every operational $1 spent.

As the economy recovers, the demand for our
services continues. The good news is there are still opportunities to continue
to increase our food distribution. We work with farmers and packers to increase
donations of fresh fruits and vegetables. We work with more than 150 grocery
stores to maximize donations of meat, produce, and dairy products through our
store pick up program. We constantly seek opportunities to increase food
donations from other sources. Without our communities’ support, we would be
unable to avail ourselves of the opportunities to feed more of our neighbors in
need. With your support, we can continue to significantly reduce hunger in
Southwest Florida.

Mobile Pantry Program: To
address hunger and good nutrition, HCFB launched the Mobile Pantry Program
(MFP) in 2010. The MFP program directly addresses geographically isolated
low-income communities afflicted with poor nutrition, chronic hunger and food
insecurity. The
Mobile Pantry Program was designed to assist low-income individuals and
families who live in areas where access to grocery stores and public
transportation is limited.

Using ret
repurposed beverage trucks, Mobile Food Pantries contain anywhere from 6,000 to
10,000 pounds of food and produce. Approximately 200 to 250
families/households, representing 400 to 600 children, are served at each
distribution event. Families select grocery items such as frozen meat, bread,
rice, cereal, fresh vegetables and fruit, averaging 30 to 35 pounds of food per household.

Budget$809,000

Category Human Services, General/Other

Program Linked to Organizational StrategyYes

Population ServedPoor,Economically Disadvantaged,Indigent

Short Term Success

Short-term goals are to distribute approximately 10,000 pounds of food to about 300 families at each distribution. The food bank schedules approximately three to four distributions a week.

Long Term Success

Mobile pantries distribute approximately 12,000 pounds of food to an average of 300 families per distribution. The intent of this program is to assure that those in need receive emergency food quickly. The food bank typically schedules distributions through partner agencies. These agencies inform the clients of the upcoming distributions. The goal is to increase mobile pantry distributions by at least 10%.

Program Success Monitoring

Clients self-report their income status and receipt of other assistance such as food stamps and Medicaid. The food bank uses those reports to determine how many people were served at a distribution. Additionally, the food bank monitors the partner agencies to ensure that they are complying with food safety standards and other requirements set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Feeding America, the food bank's national affiliate.

Program Success Examples

The mobile pantry has grown since it started in early 2011. The food bank distributed 3.3 million pounds of food through this program in FYN2014. Additionally, a separate grant has allowed the food bank to target clients in Collier County. Through that grant, the food bank has distributed an additional 2.2 million pounds of food to children and their families in Collier County.

Fresh Produce: The food bank began the Fresh
Produce program in 2008 with the intent of providing more fresh fruits and
vegetables. That year, the food bank distributed more than 69,000 pounds of
fresh produce, collected through area farmers, retailers, Feeding America
suppliers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other sources. The fresh
produce program continues to expand annually with recent distribution climbing
over 6 million pounds, an increase of 8,500% since the program's inception.

The short-term goal is to increase fresh produce distributions by at least 10%.

Long Term Success

The goal is to increase the amount of fresh produce the food bank receives through growers, area retailers and other sources by at least 10%. The intent is to distribute that food to clients so that they receive more nutritious food.

Program Success Monitoring

The operations department monitors the amount and types of food the food bank acquires and distributes. It weighs these donations and the amount distributed to ensure that goals are being met.

Program Success Examples

More than 6.0 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables were distributed in fiscal year 2014.

Retail Store
Donations: The food bank has established partnerships with more than 140
grocery/retail stores, including Publix, Walmart, Winn-Dixie and Target. Approximately
35% to 40% of all donated food is acquired from grocery and retail store
partnerships.

SNAP Outreach: The
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food
stamps) is a short-term resource for families to acquire nutritious foods
at local grocery stores. The food bank’s outreach staff helps clients apply for
the SNAP assistance, which is administered by the Florida Department of
Children and Families.

Al Brislain, President & CEO,
has been in food banking for more than 30 years. He has been director of four
food banks, including an 11-year stint as executive director of the Second
Harvest Food Bank in Spokane, WA. He also has worked for Feeding America
(formerly America's Second Harvest), most recently as senior vice president of
member services from 2002-2007. Brislain is a graduate of University of
California at Davis. He has been President & CEO of the Harry Chapin Food
Bank since March of 2007.

Feeding America, the
nation's largest hunger-relief organization, announced in April the
selection of Al Brislain, CEO and president of the Harry Chapin Food Bank of
Southwest Florida, as the recipient of the 2015 John van Hengel Fellowship.

The annual award
honors the ideals of the late John van Hengel, who developed the concept of
food banking in the 1960s, and recognizes an executive director or CEO of a
member food bank for his or her excellence in leadership, local impact and
national influence, and commitment and entrepreneurial spirit in the area of
hunger relief.

Former CEOs/Executive Directors

Name

Term

Senior Staff

Name

Title

Eric Hitzeman

Operations Director

Kelli King

Capital Campaign Director

Kari LaFort

Programs Director

Dave Najar

Director of Administration, Technology, Finance

Miriam Pereira

Development Director

Staff & Volunteer Statistics

Full Time Staff50

Part Time Staff0

Staff Retention Rate %89

Professional DevelopmentYes

Contractors0

Volunteers4200

Management Reports to BoardYes

CEO/Executive Director Formal EvaluationYes

Senior Management Formal EvaluationYes

Non-Management Formal EvaluationYes

Collaborations

As the largest food bank in Southwest Florida, HCFB collaborates with more than 150 nonprofit partner agencies in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee countries for the distribution of food to 30,000 people each month.

Affiliations

Affiliation

Year

AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals)

Florida Public Relations Association

United Way Member Agency

Florida Association of Food Banks

Feeding America

Fresh From Florida

Christian Chamber of Commerce

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce

External Assessments and Accreditations

Assessment/Accreditation

Year

Charity Navigator

American Institute of Baking (AIB)

Awards & Recognition

Award/Recognition

Organization

Year

4-Star Charity

Charity Navigator

2014

AIB Certification

American Institute of Baking

2014

Al Brislain, CEO and president recipient of the 2015 John van Hengel Fellowship.

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